Improvement in hydrants



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J OSEBH NOTTINGHAM SMITH, 0F JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN HYDRANTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 59,671, dated November13, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J osEPH NOTTINGHAM SMITH, of Jersey City, in thecounty of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new andImproved Hydrant- Reservoir and Ram 5 and I do hereby decl-are that thefollow ing is a full and exact description thereof, reference being' hadto the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification- Figurel being a front view of the whole hydrant and its reservoir, the spoutbeing shown in its lowest position, as when drawing water from it; Fig.2, a central vertical section in a plane indicated by the line x, Fig.1; Fig. 3, a similar section, but representing the spout raised to itshighest position, as placed after drawing water from it.

The corresponding position of the parts is indicated by red lines inFig. l.

Like letters designate corresponding` parts in all of the gures.

A suitable hydrai'it-case, A, is provided, being hollow, for thereception of the spout E, and having an opening` in one lside at theproper height, and of sufficient vertical length to allow room for theprojecting part ot' the spout, and for a sufficient vertical movementthereof, as required. This case extends down into the ground S to therequired depth, and terminates in a iiange, a, which forms the top orcover for a reservoir, B, under ground. This reservoir is made ofcylindrical form, and, at least, of sufficient capacity to hold all theWater which may be contained in the whole length of the spout E afterdrawing water at any time.

The lower end of the spout E terminates in an expanded disk or plate, e,(or its equivalent,) to which a piston, H, fitting the inside of thereservoir B, is secured by screws, as shown, or otherwise.

Into the lower end of the reservoir B, or into a separate chamber, G,below, the service waterpipe D discharges, and avalve, I, controls theHow of water from this chamber into the reservoir, or directly into thepipe G of the spout E.

The general action of the whole hydrant is this AA verticalreciprocating movement is given to the spout E,`sufficient to move thepiston H (attached to the spout) as much as required in the reservoir.When water is to be drawn from the hydrant, the spout E and its piston Hare brought down to their lowest position, as shown in Fig. 2, by whichmovement, rst, the water in thc reservoir B below the piston is forcedup into the pipe G or bore of the spout, lling the saine nearly, orquite, to overflowing; and just before the piston reaches its lowestposition it strikes an upwardly-projecting stem, i, of the valve I, soas to press down the valve and open it. Then the water rushes up fromthe chamber C by the pressure in the service-pipe D through the spout,and ows out therefrom till the requisite quantity is obtained. The spoutE and its piston H are then raised again to their highest position, asshown in Fig. 3, and indicated by red lines in Fig. l, which movementfirst relieves the valve I, allowing it to close, thereby shutting offfurther flow of water from the chamber C or service-pipe D, and thenfills the enlarged space in the reservoir below the piston by thesurplus water contained in the spout descending therein.

Thus important advantages are gained by' letting all the surplus waterwhich has run from the service-pipe flow back into a reservoir underground, below the reach of frost. First, there is no loss of water byflowing away upon the ground; second, no inconvenience, danger, ornuisance results from iiowing or dripping out upon the ground; third, asthe water all flows back immediately 'into the reservoir below theground, it is never liable to freeze, so that the hydrant may be usedall winter without risk or trouble; fourth, a corresponding advantage isgained in summer, by keeping the surplus water always cool in thereservoir below the surface of the ground.

In order to give the vertical reciprocating movement to the spout E, aplate, g, or its equivalent, attached to the spout outside of the case,is provided with rack-teeth L on one edge, and into these a pinion, N,pivoted to a projection of the case A, and provided with a handle,gears, substantially as represented in Fig. l.

Vhen the spout is down the handle of the pinion points upward, as shownby black lines in the iigure; and to raise the spout to its highestposition, the handle has to be brought down to its lowest position, asindicated by red lines. In that position it is held by a spring-catch,I), as shown.

By this means the spout is retained in its highest position. The handleof the pinion is readilydetached from the catch when the spout is to belowered by springing the catch one side.

The weight of the spout is intended to be sufficient to cause it todescend against the pressure of water below the piston H, as well asovercomin g the friction ofthe piston against the surface of thereservoir. To insure this the body of the spout is made of cast-iron, insections or halves, the two parts being fastened together by rivets orbolts d d, Figs. 2 and 3, and inside of this is located asimple leadpipe, G, all substantially as represented.

The piston H may be made of wood or other suitable material, to whichthe flanges c c of the spout-segments are secured by screws, as shown,thus fastening the lower ends of the sections together at the same time.The piston has a suitable packing, h, on. its periphery.

Centrally in the lower side of the piston H is a ilarin g recess, p,lined with an elastic packing, r, which is secured in place by ametallic plate or disk, s, th at has perforations t t through it, sothat the water may pass through from below up into the pipe G of thespout E; and centrally from the bottom of the reservoir B a tubularprojection, a, extends upward, and is of such a size and shape as to fitwater-tight up into the recess p of the piston, as shown in Fig. 2.

The valve I in the chamber l closes upward against elastic packing l, asshown, being held up to its seat by a spring, m, and by the pressure ofwater in the service-pipe. The stem t' of the valve projects upwardbeyond the projection u of the reservoir-bottom when the Valve isclosed, as in Fig. 3; but when the spout E and its piston H descend, theplate s in the top of the recess p of the piston strikes the stem t' ofValve, and thereby presses down the valve and opens it. Immediatelyafter the packing r of the recess p closes tightly down over theprojection a, and preventsthe water from iiowing out into the reservoir,and compels it to How upward only into the spout. Thus no sand or otherimpurities or obstructions can get into the reservoir from the iowingwater, which otherwise would collect there, and require the reservoirfrequently to be cleaned out.

The chamber G is cast in a separate piece from the reservoir B, asshown, and is screwed or bolted to the bottom of the reservoir, itsBange c generally fitting into a recess, b, in the bottom to receive it.The same packing, l, which tightens the valve I also tightens the jointbetween the chamber C and reservoir B.

That Iclaitn as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The combination and arrangement of the spout G, weighted as described,reservoir B, and valve I', so that the water when iowingis conductedthrough said spout without communicating with the reservoir, but whenthe valve is closed and the water ceases to How a communication isopened between the spout and reservoir, substantially as and for thepurposes herein specified.

The above specification of my improved hydrant-reservoirand ram signedby me this 29th day of December, 1864.

JOSEPH NOTTINGHAM SMITH.

Witnesses: l

DAVID MASON, WM. W. SNOW.

